Good Jobs Strengthen Our Economy

Working Families Need an Economic Recovery that Work for Everyone

More than 3,000 Chicago-area SEIU Local 1 janitors and community supporters marched to Federal Plaza to call for an economic recovery that creates good jobs for working families.

“To get our economy back on track, working families need to make ends meet,” said Tom Balanoff, President of SEIU Local 1.  “Communities need good jobs, not more money put into pockets of the richest Americans and big corporations.”

Good jobs for workers are needed to help revive our struggling economy because two-thirds of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product comes from consumer spending, according to a recent federal government report.

 “I don’t get paid much, but the money I get keeps my community going,” said Ed Washington, a janitor at Fermi Elementary School in Chicago.  “My paycheck helps support our neighborhood store, neighborhood restaurants and even our church.  Jobs like ours are what drive the economy.”

To revive our economy, people who work hard need to make a good living instead of treading water or falling behind.  Workers, not just CEOs, need to be able to benefit from the economic progress they help create.